elezar

hopmedic wrote:Nope - the adapter won't make it work. The adapter won't play the audio back through.

http://bit.ly/RP4ZvJ

It will play the audio still, just fine (Even in the article you linked, there's an update stating this).

What won't work is the ability to control the iPhone/iPod through the dock itself or its remote control. That's definitely a loss, but considering that all these docks are being dumped for cheap since the iPhone 5 was announced, if you don't care about the external controls, you can get a pretty good deal.

ajfili

Yes, you will. The two functions the Lightning to 30-pin adapter WON'T support are Video-Out and "iPod Out" a feature that not many things took advantage of (BMW drivers are the largest group of people affected by this). A special mode that uses a combination remote control/video out to control the iPhone/iPod as well as display it's menus on another screen. Standard USB ports on car stereos as well as docks will work fine. The reason the adapter is $30 is because it has a DAC inside it for audio out. And it passes through controls. Just not certain special ones that not many devices used, apparently.

rydawg09 wrote:The adapter will allow it to work. The article you linked to even says that. You won't be able to control your iPod/iPhone from any outside player though.

Mrxiro

I have one that I paid 60 dollars for back in March. I had the last generation too. They sound great for an alarm clock. Nothing that can blow away a room full of people though. This one does sound better than the last generation though and I like the swivel hinge though I did break one this year. I broke my last clock too cause I ended up wearing my headphones while connected to the dock so I didn't bother my wife one good tug one night and the dock was dead... but this was before the newer movable hinge. I did break one the same way or it was just faulty as it would work intermittently with my iPhone 4S.

dangithien

I bought this model but a couple of generations ago, maybe like 2 years ago. The sound is good and can get fairly loud and fill a room. It's alarm clock so obviously there's no bass, but the X-bass tries. Not too tin-y for speakers of this size. I would def buy it at this price, especially considering I paid a bill when it was new.

SteveK

Now that the old 30-pin interface is antiquated, I'm surprised they're selling it for such an obscene amount. Divide the price by 10 and you might have something worth getting as a keepsake of bygone days.

offline999

SteveK wrote:Now that the old 30-pin interface is antiquated, I'm surprised they're selling it for such an obscene amount. Divide the price by 10 and you might have something worth getting as a keepsake of bygone days.

With the millions and millions of existing iThings out there I'm sure there is a market for this. Remember, this is for the Pod too, not just the Phone, so while some will surely be updating their Phones in the coming weeks, there are still plenty of Pod People who would find this a useful item. If the comments so far are any indication, this price is a significant mark down from previous offerings.
Woot! it up iPeople...

Glowrdr

ajfili wrote:The reason the adapter is $30 is because it has a DAC inside it for audio out.

I can certainly tell you that there is not a DAC inside the adaptor. Not that it really matters in this instance, but the DAC itself is in the phone circuitry. The adaptor is just that - a 30 pin to lightning adaptor.

I'm guessing that in the older phones, the 30 pins were used up by seperate data in/out functions - and the lightning supports 2 way connection. Thus, leaving out some of the pins. That is just a guess though, and might explain why you can push sound out, but not data in by using the adaptor

leduke

Can anyone opine on how well the radio function works on this device? I am more looking for a radio that will play an ipod than a dock that has a "radio" that only gets static. Thanks for any insights.

Sardinicus

I just got one of these last month (same price on an eBay 1-day sale).

I can give a positive review overall, with a few caveats and comments:

- It's odd that this is sold as a "speaker dock" rather than an alarm clock, which is really what it is. (I guess maybe the reason these are white elephants is that everyone who has an iPod/iPhone uses that for alarms now?)

- The grille is far more opaque and black than it appears in the main picture. You can see where the speakers are but in normal lighting it looks much more like the other pictures here.

- These are 2-inch speakers plus some sort of tuned port on each side. It won't replace your 5.1 system, but the sound is quite good for what it is.

- The whole thing is sturdy, weighty, and of much better quality and feel vs. your typical cheapie clock-dock.

- in case you are wondering, you can't put an iPad on here.

- The brightness control is step-wise, three steps plus off. Even on the lowest setting it can be a bit much if you like a very dark room while you sleep. I miss the analog brightness dial on my old, old clock.

Sardinicus

leduke wrote:Can anyone opine on how well the radio function works on this device? I am more looking for a radio that will play an ipod than a dock that has a "radio" that only gets static. Thanks for any insights.

The FM tuner seems very good to me, crystal-clear on a couple of stations that my previous clock had trouble with. There is an external AM antenna loop-thingy which I have not connected; without it I get no AM at all so cannot comment there.

Sardinicus

Glowrdr wrote:I can certainly tell you that there is not a DAC inside the adaptor. Not that it really matters in this instance, but the DAC itself is in the phone circuitry. The adaptor is just that - a 30 pin to lightning adaptor.

I'm guessing that in the older phones, the 30 pins were used up by seperate data in/out functions - and the lightning supports 2 way connection. Thus, leaving out some of the pins. That is just a guess though, and might explain why you can push sound out, but not data in by using the adaptor

I think you are misunderstanding.

The 8-pin Lightning connector is described by Apple as all-digital.

So a DAC in the phone ain't gonna help. If the adapter doesn't have one, an old-style docking station such as this ain't gonna work.

ahknight

* You can put an iPad on here, it's just not stable.
* I put my phone with a Speck case on it all the time.
* I have also used a 3G, 3GS, iPod Touch, and all three versions of iPad on it (I'm a developer, not an addict).
* The sound is good.
* The speakers are not visible.
* Even the iPad will charge on this.
* There's an app for this device that lets you configure the radio and alarms. When you plug your device in, it will prompt you to download it (it sucks, though; D-Sappli or something like that).

My biggest complaint about this device is that after using it for some weeks/months it starts to get hard to get it to recognize my phone and other devices. While they charge, I find I have to tilt the device to and fro a lot to get the alarm to pick up that it's there, and the slightest nudge and it disappears again. Given Sony's 90-day warranty, you're SOL by the time this happens.

Otherwise, it's really good. The radio is nice, there are dual alarms that can be radio presets or the iDevice, and I use it everyday.

Pick it up cheap while you can if you have 30-pin devices that you want to keep using in the future, even as "backup" devices or home audio toys.

molex

Watching frustrated tech wannabes rushing to the "discuss this deal" button about iphone speakers so they can be the first to say "But it won't work with an iphone 5, see how cool I am I know things that everyone else also knows" and then defend themselves as a slew of other frustrated tech wannabes argue over categorically incorrect statements about items that aren't even released yet is my new favorite thing on woot

selkparr

keelysiri

Rantipole wrote:Really, who needs a remote for this type of item anyway? I mean really.

I use this as a speaker dock (not alarm clock) in my dining room to listen to music while I cook in the kitchen (or do other chores in the house) It's nice to be able to pause or skip songs without having to go all the way back across the house. If you use it as an alarm clock next to your bed only...then yeah, the remote is probably useless to you.

keelysiri

Also, I've had the two previous models and both of them had the connectors break/come loose (they stopped reading the ipod/iphones to play music but would still charge) after only a few months. Can anyone confirm that the swivel connection of this newer model actually corrects this design flaw? If so then it's worth the money for me!

ROGETRAY

osowckd wrote:I saw that someone asked this question, but it wasn't answered. Does it come with a power cord or is this strictly battery operated? Thanks in advance.

I'm not quite familiar with this product, but judging by the specs and this type of speaker, I would guess it's only powered by an outlet and not via batteries.
But please don't take my answer as definite, just an educated guess

osowckd

ROGETRAY wrote:I'm not quite familiar with this product, but judging by the specs and this type of speaker, I would guess it's only powered by an outlet and not via batteries.
But please don't take my answer as definite, just an educated guess

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